


In Which Kaiden Can't See Shit Unless It's Two Inches Away

by tigerfishy



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Glasses, Kaiden has Shitty Eyesight, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 13:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2272128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerfishy/pseuds/tigerfishy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laser eye surgery is pretty safe in the 22nd century, the Asari had been working on it for more than a few human lifespans. That's why you'll never see an Elcor with glasses. And, because it was the Asari who developed the procedure, you’d think they’d make it safe for biotics. They did, of course, mostly. Unless you had a faulty L2 implant and your name was Kaiden Alenko, then you were fucked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Kaiden Can't See Shit Unless It's Two Inches Away

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a conversation I had with tumblr user calm-your-cloaca.  
> Glasses are basically my entire sexuality, and the lack of them in Mass Effect is frustrating to no end.

You know how everyone is kind of afraid of laser eye surgery? 

Well, at least they were. Now it’s as safe as any other standard medical procedure. Actually, most people have it done in their lifetimes, a side effect of living in a universe where the Asari -the only other species who’s eyesight degrades over time- have been living. 

And, because it was the Asari who developed the procedure, you’d think they’d make it safe for biotics. They did, of course, mostly. Unless you had a faulty L2 implant and your name was Kaiden Alenko, then you were fucked. 

Kaiden hadn’t ever had particularly good eyesight, when he was younger he had found himself squinting to see things two feet from his face. With his shit eyesight had come his first pair of glasses, much thicker than you would hope them to be in the 22nd century, ugly and rounded, they had been his father’s. 

It was fairly safe to say that Kaiden wasn’t crazy about them. 

He had tried to get his eyes fixed, he really did, but the doctors all said that his biotic implant made it too difficult to perform surgery, too dangerous. If he had had an L3 implant instead, it would have been different, but not having 20/20 vision was the least of his worries considering the other side effects of his implant, so he was eventually forced to accept that he would always be blind without intervention from unsightly accessories. 

By the time he turned 13, Kaiden had taken to “misplacing” his glasses around his room, and just walking around squinting and blind. He only ever put them on to read. Unfortunately, he had carried this habit into his adulthood. 

Normally it wasn’t a big deal, his visor more than compensated for the deficiency during combat, and no one had said anything about it. But no matter what he told himself, he still had to wear them for paperwork. Of course his first pair was long gone, replaced for a pair of thin silver frames—the most discrete he could find. He made sure the door was locked before he slipped them, immersing himself in his work. 

Kaiden had just settled onto the couch of the observation deck to work through the last few mission reports when he heard a small clicking coming from his door. He barely had enough time to look up before Shepard came bursting in. 

“Hey Alenko, are you sure you’re allowed to lock the observation deck? Are you masturbating or somethi-“ she fell silent. Staring at him, her look of annoyance slowly turning into a smirk. 

This was around the time that Kaiden remembered what he was wearing. He jerked the offending article off his face and tossed them across the room, as if it would somehow make the situation better. Shepard’s smirk grew into a wide grin. 

“Alenko, you wear glasses?” She was barely masking the glee in her voice. 

“No” He replied too quickly. “I mean, yes, but not-“  
He frowned, rubbing his temples.  
“I need to use them for reading” he conceded, hoping she would drop the issue

Shepard clearly was in no mood to let him off easy. She glided over to join him on the couch, pulling her legs up to cross them. She blinked innocently at him. 

Not that Kaiden noticed, she could have been Tali for all he could see. 

“So just how bad is it?”

“How bad is what?”

“Your eyesight.” 

Kaiden sighed and shook his head. If only he hadn’t thrown his glasses across the room, he could just ignore her and return at his paperwork. He turned away and squinted into the distance, trying to place them. 

When he turned back Shepard was still there, clearly not leaving without an answer. 

“I don’t know the numbers anymore, all I know is that I can’t even read the first letter on eyesight charts.”

She seemed satisfied with that. 

“So, for example, you can’t see me right now?” 

“I can make out the general shape and colour of you, but without my visor or glasses I couldn’t see your face unless you were three inches away.” 

She nodded, or at least he assumed she did. They sat in silence for a while, Kaiden still trying to figure out where he tosses his glasses. He cleared his throat with the intention of biting the bullet and asking for her help. 

“Shepard I know th-“ he was cut off by biotics hitting him firmly in the chest, throwing him onto his back. Before he could recover, Shepard had thrown herself on top of him. She held herself inches away. 

“How about now?” she whispered 

He looked up at her, into her eyes. He could make them out with perfect clarity. He nodded, staying quiet. 

She seemed happy with his answer. Smiling softly before pressing a warm, light kiss to his lips. He pulled her closer, holding her tightly, smiling into the kiss. They stayed that way for a while even after the kiss broke, just holding each other. 

“I think your glasses are cute” she mumbled into his chest

He rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, sure, thanks Shepard” 

She laughed, rolling off of him and walking over to the aforementioned item. She handed the glasses back to Kaiden. 

“I want that paperwork done by tomorrow Lieutenant” She called as she walked away. 

“Yes ma’am”


End file.
